My Goal: Have just one bike (for storage reasons) that excels at bikepacking over mixed terrain, works for some urban commuting, and that can keep up on the occasional lengthy road ride. I live in the the PNW, and I love to ride in the San Juans, around Seattle, and I would like to be able to tackle something like the Palouse to Cascades trail with confidence. I lean toward a steel bike, overall. Although I have test ridden the Specialized Diverge and Trek Checkpoint. Both of those seemed solid and comfortable.
My Limitations: I don't actually know a heck of a lot about bikes, but I aspire to have one I can focus on and really get to know and love. I've had a Specialized Allez for a long time that I use for urban and road riding, and I really like it. But I couldn't even tell you offhand what kind of shifters it has. Last year, I picked up a Surly Ogre as a second bike to try and get more into gravel and bike packing. I loved the attachment points and options, but I hated the monster tires and overall unwieldiness of the bike. I also didn't like having to store two bikes, so I recently sold the Ogre and am planning to sell my Allez too and get more of a proper road+/gravel bike that can handle more terrain than my Allez.
What I'm Considering: I love the look of the orange-steel Otso Warakin. There's a local shop that carries the steel and titanium versions, so I'm hoping to get over there to check them out for sizing and give them a test ride. The Jamis Renegade S2 also seems like a competitive option. Only the "Apex" Renegade S2 version is in stock in my size, 54.
I'm very tempted to get one of these bikes. But it's also a ton of cash either way. One thing that I keep coming back to is that I, unfortunately, don't know a ton about gearing. I've been watching YouTube videos and trying to research the 1x options on both of these bikes. They seem pretty similar, but it's hard for me to discern what the numbers really mean. My understanding is that these 1x gravel set-ups lean toward getting you up big climbs under load rather than speed, but I'm not positive.
Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew, and I should go with something like the Jamis S4, ride the hell out of it, and upgrade down the road if I feel like I need to.
Anyway, I'd heartily appreciate any thoughts, reactions, or other bikes to consider here.
by BuffaloRex